Sunday, April 26, 2009

Greene and Fletcher Kick Off 2nd Day

from bleacherreport.com

After a first day where no Hawkeyes were selected, the Jets and Rams wasted no time in finding Iowa's talent.

RB Shonn Greene was taken with the 65th pick overall to the NY Jets. After browsing some of the Jets fan boards, it appears that incumbent starter Thomas Jones is unhappy with his situation in New York. Not sure why, but if he's out, Greene's in. The other Jet's running back is Leon Washington. Washington is a quick, play maker with good hands. If Jones is out, Washington and Greene complement each other well. With recent first round selection Mark Sanchez from USC as the likely starter, new head coach Rex Ryan will want to run the ball.

The Jets were eager to grab Greene when they traded a third, fourth, and seventh round pick to the Lions.

Greene, an All-American, rushed for more than 100 yards in all 13 games last season, finishing with 1,850 yards and 20 touchdowns in his one season as a regular.

From ESPN's Scouts Inc., "At 227 pounds, Greene is a powerful between-the-tackles runner who can carry a heavy load and appears to get better with each carry. He doesn't have great top-end speed, but he's quicker than he is fast and runs with good balance. Although he is an inconsistent receiver at this point he's an above-average pass-blocker for a college prospect."

(Unimportant side note: I lost the bet with my roommate by ONE pick. One. Uno. I literally could not have lost the bet by a smaller margin. Not that anyone actually cares about this other than me, but I figure that since it's my blog, the world can share my frustration over consuming 44 ounces more Mountain Dew that any person should drink at a time. Damn you Beanie Wells.)

DB Bradley Fletcher was taken right after Greene with the 66th pick overall to the St. Louis Rams.

From ESPN's Scouts Inc., "Fletcher is 6-feet tall and, like we said yesterday in regard to Utah cornerback Sean Smith, corners this tall can have a hard time changing directions. In Fletcher's case, he doesn't have the burst or hip fluidity to consistently match up in man coverage. However, he does a good job masking his weaknesses with instincts. Because of his long arms he doesn't necessarily have to be in perfect position to make a play on the ball."

I think this is a good fit for Fletcher. Mainly, because the Rams play in the NFC West which includes the 49'ers, Seahawks, and Cardinals. Fletch is a big corner at 6', big enough that there's been talk of a move to safety. However, the NFC West specializes in big receivers. San Francisco miraculously had Michael Crabtree fall into their laps, Arizona has Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin (for now). The Seahawks don't have these elite receivers, but with Nate Burleson and the recently drafted Deon Butler from Penn State, they still provide a decent threat. You can see Fletcher on Butler the video below.